I needed to get dental implants because dentures were a complete bust for me. My dentist said because of some bone loss and the fact I needed a more affordable procedure he suggested all-on-4 implants. I got through the surgical part and one of the implants failed. My dentist is blaming me because he said smoking hinders the procedure. However, he didn’t warn me about this when we were going into it. Now he says because one failed, the whole thing has to be replaced. He also said I’ll need bone grafting now, which is the procedure we were trying to avoid with the all-on-4 to begin with. Can this disaster be fixed?

Carol

Dear Carol,

It’s unfortunate you are going through this. As far as the dental implant failure, I sincerely hope maybe your dentist told you about the risks, but with everything else being thrown at you it was missed. If he neglected to tell you about this risks, especially knowing you are a smoker, you’d be much better served with a different dentist.

The only way to fix this is to start over. You can ask for a refund and hopefully, he will give you at least a partial refund.

While the all-on-four procedure can save you money on bone grafting, not everyone is an ideal candidate for that procedure.

Before moving forward, I’d like you to see someone with more expertise in dental implants for a second opinion. He or she can tell you whether it is viable for you to try and save this procedure or if you will need to start from scratch.

You want a dentist who’s done post-doctoral studies in dental implants specifically. For instance, Dr. Murphree has studied at the renowned Dawson Academy.

I’m not sure if what is being told to me is accurate and need some advice. I lost two front teeth in a tussle with a horse I lost. I was a teenager at the time and they told me I’d have to wait until my jaw was fully developed to get dental implants. I’ve been wearing a flipper since then. I’m about 12 years older now and am ready to get the implants but don’t have gobs of money. I found a dentist who was more affordable than most and has a good reputation for his work. However, when I went for my consultation he said he could do the dental implants but in order for them to match the other teeth I’d need to get two porcelain veneers on either side of the front teeth. This takes it way out of the affordable range. Is that normal practice for someone in my situation?

No, this isn’t standard procedure. I think the problem you’re bucking up against here (forgive the horse pun, but given what caused this I couldn’t resist), is a dentist who isn’t skilled in cosmetic work.

Granted the front teeth are the hardest to do, but a good cosmetic dentist would be able to match them to the remainder of your teeth. In fact, a dental flipper, which you’ve been wearing for years, is much less aesthetic.

I don’t know if he does this because he feels like he has to in order to get the dental implants to match or if he’s just trying to increase the bill. Either way, you’ll want a different dentist.

Affordable Dental Implants

You should know that dental implants are done in two stages, which also breaks the payment into two stages as well. Though, even that is hard for many patients. Plus, you sound young which likely means you haven’t had time to build up a huge savings yet.

When you’re looking for affordable dental implants, make sure you don’t just look for cheap. There’s a big difference. Cheap dental implants often have a higher price tag because of the lack of skill on the dentist’s part or the poor quality of the materials.

Either of those issues can lead to infection and dental implant failure. Then, you’ll have to start over as well has have bone grafting done to replace the lost bone. You’ll likely be paying for all of that out of pocket unless you can prove it was the dentist’s fault.

That’s why I’m a firm believer in picking the dentist based on their skill and success rate, then talking to them directly about ways to make this more affordable for you. Most would be willing to even subdivide the two payments further for you if necessary. Or, they may work with Care Credit which allows you to get your work done and then pay it out as you go.

I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. My dentist is only giving me one more shot at this and I want to get it right. I had a single dental implant placed. After just a few weeks, it broke. Then we did bone grafting and did the procedure a second time. After a couple of months, it broke again. I’m about to do bone grafting again, but my dentist said he’ll only do the procedure one more time. I can’t think of anything weird I’m doing to make this happen. Do you know a reason why dental implants will break so quickly?

Marla D.

Dear Marla,

As you said you’re not doing anything weird with it, I’m assuming you aren’t hitting it with a hammer or anything like that. Barring something ridiculous, you are not the problem with your dental implant breaking. They’re designed to hold up to biting forces. There are generally two reasons for a dental implant breaking.

Dental Implants Break from Poorly Made Fixtures

This is what I suspect is really the problem. Your dentist’s alarm bells should have been going off loudly when the first implant broke. Any chance he advertises as placing dental implants at a much cheaper price than other dentists in the area? There’s a big difference between affordable dental implants and cheap dental implants.

Some dentist have significantly lower prices but make up the profit by purchasing implants from outside the United States. If dentists purchase their implants from a reputable US company, it will cost them several hundred dollars. We have high standards of medical and dental care. However, if a dentist is looking to make up their profit margin, they may cut corners by purchasing from outside the country. In some countries, they can get an implant for just a few dollars.

Such cheap implants are more likely to break. The fact that he didn’t make the connection after the second time makes me wonder if he really knows what he’s doing or if he’s deliberately playing ignorant and playing the odds hoping the next one will work.

Dental Implants Have Problems from Poor Placement

When a dental implant is placed, it has to be done in such a way that it matches up with the opposing teeth properly. It has to withstand both direct forces from biting and side to side motion. A good implant dentist knows how to do this.

When they’re poorly placed, they’ll last for a while, but eventually give. However, they take a while to fail and usually manifest by coming loose or developing an infection. It’s really the cheap implants that do the snapping/breaking as you’ve experienced.

Please don’t go forward with this dentist again. Tell him you want a full refund and go to a more qualified dentist. You want someone with significant post-graduate training on implantology. For instance, Dr. Murphree has done extensive post-doctoral studies at the Dawson Academy for Advanced Dental Studies. Look for someone in your area who has invested in that type of training.